Window-cleaning device



A. SUNDH.l

WINDOW CLEANING DEVICE.

APPLlcATfoN FILED DEC. 30. 1918.

1,34%348., Patented July 139 192@ UNITED sTATEs ATENT oFFicla..`

AUGUST SUNDI-I, 0F HASTINGS-'UPON7HUDS0N, NEW .ZOIRK WINDOW-CLEANING DEVICE.

Application filed December 30, 11918. Serial No. 269,019.

To all whom t may Concern.'

Be it known that l, AUGUST SUNDH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hastings upon Hudson, Westchester county, State .of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Window-Cleanino' Devices, of which the following is a Specilcation.

My invention relates to an improved glass cleaning device particularly adapted for windows', wind-shields and the like, and comprising means whereby the same may readily be kept clean and free from moisture snow, ice, etc.

The invention is especially adapted for use on transportation vehicles such as street cars, railroad locomotives, automobiles and the like, where the vision of the driver-, for safetys sake, must be unobstructed.

To this end l have provided means where- .by the glass or wind-shield may be heated to prevent accumulation of snow and ice thereon, and additional means whereby moisture and dirt whichvmay accumulate on the glass may be blown therefrom by a blast of compressed air supplied from any suitable` source. 1n cold weather the heating device may be kept running continuously, if desired, while the air blast may be usedV as` often as necessary, the control therefor being placed within convenient reach of the operator.

In general, mydevice comprises a pipe connected for convenience to the compressed air tank supplying compressed air to the brakes of the car, this pipe being located at or near the upper part of the window to be cleaned and being provided with a longitudinal slot extending practically the entire width of the window, means having been provided whereby the pipe in which the slot is cut may be rotated to vary the angle of inclination at which the air blast will be imposed upon the surface of the glass. addition l provide a heating device comprising a resistance element connected to the source'of supply which furnishes the power for operating the air pump by which the air in the tank is compressed.

To carry out my invention l will use compressed air from a suitable source and if said source is not available l will provide a power-driven air `compressor as it is'n'eces sary to have quite a high pressure for ob'- taining good results.

1n the accompanying drawings, wherein l have shown the preferred lembodiment of my invention,-

igure 1 is an elevational view of the front part of a car with my window cleaning device applied thereto; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevational view of the showing in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 1 designates a car or other transportation vehicle having a window 2 which it is desired to havekept clean. At the bottom of the car l have shown an electric motor 3 and operating an air compressore for supplying air under pressure to a tank 5, which air is usually employed for operating the air-brakes (not shown) of the car. Leading from the tank 5 upwardly to the upper part of the window 2 is a pipe 6 communicating with .a short length of pipe 7 located at the upper part of the window and extending transversely thereof. The pipe 7, it will be observed from Fig. 2, is located slightly in advance of the front of the window and is provided with a slot 8 therein, which is preferably cut longitudinally of the pipe and extends the entire width of the window. From Fig. 2 it will be observed that this slot is at an angle tothe face of the window and in order that this angle of inclination may be varied as desired, l have provided a handwheel '9, in Fig. .1, by which the pipe 7 may be rotated. rlhe passage of air under pressure from the tank 5 to the pipe 7 is controlled by a valve 10 operable by a pedal 11 which is placed within easy reach'o'f the operator of the vehicle.

'F rom the description thus far given. it will be seen thatpa blast of air under pressure may be imposed upon the outer sur# face of the window 2 at an angle thereto inclined in the direction of gravity. ll preferably place the pipe 7 at the upper part of i the window inasmuch as l am thenable to take advantage of the natural owof moisioo ture from the Vwindow underthe action 'of this supply being controlled by switches 17 and 18. With these switches closed the resistance element 16 will receive current and be heated up to heat the air in the chamber 14 and thereby heat the window-pane 13. This heating element has been provided for the purpose of maintaining the window 2 slightly warm so that snow and ice striking the same will be melted and the resulting moisture may be then easily blown from the window by the air blast already referred to.

Obviousy the heating of the window may be regulate as desired and also, if the vehicle to which my device is applied be used where the temperature of the atmosphere is always above the freezing point, the heating element may be dispensed with entirely and the window cleaned by the compressed air solely.

If foundV more convenient the heating ele ment 16 may be dispensed with even in cold weather, but in such an event it would be preferable to heat the air blast. I believe, however, that such an arrangement would not be as satisfactory as that which I have herein illustrated and described, and would probably require more power. i

It will be obvious that various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described to suit varying conditions without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and I desire, therefore, not to be limited to the precise arrangement of parts illustrated.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is pressed air upon the surface of the glass and at an angle thereto, which is inclined toward the direction of the lower edge of the glass, and means for varying the inclination of the airblast to the surface of the glass.

3. A window-glass cleaning device comprising heating means at the lower partiof the glass for heating the surface of the same, and means at the upper part of the glass for imposing a blast of compressed air upon the heated surface of the same, said air blast being imposed downwardly upon the glass surface and at an incline thereto.

4. A window-glass cleaning device cornprising a pipe having a longitudinal slot therein, means connecting the pipe to a sul ply of compressed air whereby a blast of compressed air may be imposed upon the surface of the glass to be cleaned and at an angle thereto, and means for varying the position of the slot in the said pipe relatively to the surface of the glass whereby the angle of inclination of the air to the glass surface may be varied.

5. A device for cleaning window-glass having inner and outer panes, comprising a heating device communicating with the chamber between the said inner and outer panes, whereby the outer pane will be heated,- and means for imposing a blast of compressed air against the outer surface of said outer pane to clean the same.`

6. A window-glass cleaning device comprising a pipe having a longitudinal slot therein through which a blast of compressed air is imposed upon the surface of the glass and at an angle thereto, which angle is nclined downwardly, said pipe being movable to vary the inclination of the air blast to the surface of the glass.

This specification signed this 28th day f y 

